Hershlay Raymond's Top 10 Albums Of 2013

WFIT intern Hershlay Raymond's top ten albums of 2013 with some honorable mentions.

10. The Avett Brothers' "Magpie and the Dandelion"Sweetness spills out of The Avett Brothers’ banjos.Notable Tracks: "Open Ended Life" "Another is Waiting"

9. The Civil Wars' "The Civil Wars"The Civil Wars created a beautiful album while feuding. The two band members weren’t speaking to each other, yet they created something magical.Notable tracks: “I Had Me a Girl” “The One That Got Away”

8. Arctic Monkeys's "AM"I wish I could be as cool as this album. AM is slick with rough, bluesy guitar riffs and honest lyrics. When I hear lead singer Alex Turner sing, “I dreamt about you nearly every night this week,” it punches me in the gut.Notable tracks: “Do I Wanna Know?” “R U Mine?”

7. Lorde's "Pure Heroine"“Don’t you think how it’s boring how people talk?” The first lyric in Lorde’s huge success of a first album Pure Heroine grabbed me from there and didn’t let go.Notable tracks: “Tennis Court” “Team”

6. Kanye West's "Yeezus"Kanye West has illusions of grandeur, but that doesn't stop his music from being absolutely remarkable. Yeezus is Kanye at his best. Yeezus is the sound of a musician pushing himself to his limit. Yes, some of the album is pretty pretentious, but much of it is smart. Yeezus is brash in all the right ways.Notable tracks: “Blood on the Leaves” “Black Skinhead”

5. Bastille's "Bad Blood"Bastille is grand, bold, and big. Bad Blood’s twelve tracks are swimming in theatrics. The first song, “Pompeii” begins the album brilliantly with roaring chants and thunderous percussion, and the record continues its soaring melodies from there.Notable tracks: “Pompeii” “Icarus”

4. Haim's "Days Are Gone"The debut album from sisters Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim is electric. Days Are Gone is suburb and sounds like it belongs in the ‘80s without being annoyingly retro.Notable tracks: “The Wire” “Falling”

3. Arcade Fire's "Reflektor"Afterlife is an awful word, but it is the perfect word to describe Arcade Fire’s fourth album. Reflektor expands on their full, opaque sound and brings a new life to the Montreal-based band.Notable tracks: “Afterlife” “Here Comes the Nighttime”

2. Vampire Weekend's "Modern Vampires of the City"The co-eds are all grown up. Vampire Weekend third record, Modern Vampires of the City, is the final piece of an album trilogy and shows incredible maturity from the band. There are a few upbeat tracks on the record, but the gentler melodies the ones that show Vampire Weekend growth as musical artists.Notable tracks: “Unbelievers” “Step”

1. The National's "Trouble Will Find Me"Matt Berninger and company fight their demons as we sit back and enjoy.Notable tracks: “Sea of Love” “I Need My Girl”